Rolling thunder...
As evidenced by the swoop of the exhaust trail, this hogger was not wasting any time getting over the road...
NorthWest Good! We love information from the informed. We'd also love to hear any news about the 765 as well. Thanks!
Good! We love information from the informed. We'd also love to hear any news about the 765 as well. Thanks!
Well I definitely wish FWRHS luck on this and since I am a member I hope I will have the chance to work on it. I will keep you posted.
Capping the stack and removing the lagging are the two best things you can do for a locomotive being stored outdoors for years. Oh, and keeping a layer of paint on it too.
Here are a few pictures of NKP 2-8-2 587 during its excursion career. Who knows? Maybe we will see one of these roll again some day along with 765...
And just for fun, how about this NKP Hudson on freight?
BaltACDLooks like the lagging over the firebox area of the 624 has been missing since at least 1978 - that can't be too good.
Preservation experts over on RyPN have just gotten done saying it's a really good thing, and increases 624's chances ... less nasty wet fluff to hold moisture and oxygen against the boiler steel. In general, if you can't be 100% certain the lagging is intact all the way around, you're probably better off in the long run taking it off.
Lagging and sheet metal's gone all right, not just over the firebox but over the whole boiler as well. There's an old C&O Kanawha on diplay here at the Science Museum of Virginia that's the same. I suspect it disappeared during an asbestos abatement job. Everybody's terrified of asbestos nowadays.
Not trying to minimize the hazard, mind you.
Looks like the lagging over the firebox area of the 624 has been missing since at least 1978 - that can't be too good.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Firelock76 Well, FWRHS certainly has the people and the expertise to make it happen, the biggest problem. as usual, would be the funds to pull it off. Easily in the one-to-two million dollar range, unless they're really lucky and it's not as bad as it looks.
Well, FWRHS certainly has the people and the expertise to make it happen, the biggest problem. as usual, would be the funds to pull it off. Easily in the one-to-two million dollar range, unless they're really lucky and it's not as bad as it looks.
Any steam locomotive sitting outside for almost sixty years can be rebuilt if the money is available. Tha might include a new boiler, but that would probably side line the project for most rebuilds. I was in the UK when the A1 was being built new and got to see the running gear on display at York before the boiler was finished.
If only we could get one of the billionaires to fund a project like this one.
RR
Interesting thing about the St. Louis NKP line, the road engine would be a S class using the older ALCO early Berkshires, the the Mikes would be behind. The 500 series was probably being transferred back east as a power balancing move.
Most of my pictures were taken at Neoga, Illinois
That would be unfortunate because a second operable steam locomotive for FWRHS would ensure that when unit one was in for the mandated periodic 1,472 day overhaul processes, the other could continue to pull excursions. That would particularly be of benefit if there are any regularly-scheduled excursions related to operation of their Headwaters Junction development.
But at the very worst, it will be a very-well-cared-for static exhibit for their Headwaters Junction complex, which would still be a good outcome.
We will all be crossing our fingers that they can pull this off, along with their SD9 restoration, and hopefully sending them a few contributions on occasion also.
Here is a link to an interesting document on NKP Mikados...
http://nkphts.org/spottersguides/nkp_2-8-2_spotter_guide.pdf
I watched NKP 624 slowly deteriorate over the years, and I wouldn't be too suprised if restoration to operating condition would be found to be economically impossible.
ACYAs for the SP caboose, I have nothing to say.
They gets em' where they gets em'.
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
ACY, thanks for the great detailed history! Here is a picture of 639 showing all of the details you mentioned...
kgbw49 Interestingly, NKP H-6 2-8-2 639 was preserved in Bloomington, IL with a smaller tender...
Interestingly, NKP H-6 2-8-2 639 was preserved in Bloomington, IL with a smaller tender...
Few, if any, NKP 2-8-2's lasted to the end of the steam era with their original tenders intact. The tender on 639 was rebuilt and enlarged from the original USRA dimensions. It now has a Buckeye 6-wheel truck under the coal space, and a capacity of 19 tons of coal and 16,500 gallons of water. The other two preserved NKP Mikados, numbers 587 and 624, have 22RA tenders. There were a total of 25 22RA's built by Lima specifically for NKP Mikados in 1934. They were very similar (but not identical) to the tenders on NKP Berkshires.
639 has the enlarged cab and Delta trailing truck of later NKP USRA Mike copies. At one time she carried a booster and Elesco feedwater heater.
As for the SP caboose, I have nothing to say.
Tom
Did the Southern Pacific go throught Bloomington?
kgbw49I am glad it is a reefer because they can use it to bring home the bacon for Headwaters Junction!
Here, Mook:
kgbw49And I am glad it is a reefer because they can use it to bring home the bacon for Headwaters Junction!
Where's the button that makes the "wha wha" muted trumpet sound...
Excellent news. I wish them very well.
Interestingly, the NKP complained bitterly about taking the first H-6s from the USRA before they bought so many copies!
Thanks, ACY!
And I am glad it is a reefer because they can use it to bring home the bacon for Headwaters Junction!
Supposedly, everything goes. The caboose has been burned, so its future is probably questionable. By that I don't mean to imply that the car is hopeless, because I just don't know. I'm sure the Fort Wayne folks WANT to save everything, but they also may be forced to make some difficult decisions. I trust them to do what makes the most sense.
By the way, it's a reefer ---- not a boxcar.
Does anybody know if the box car and caboose are part of the package, or is it just 624 and tender?
Thanks for any intel!
Nice to see it might be moved and preserved for the future generations to see. Rebuilding it is certainly possible. I would guess it will be cleaned up and put on display at their place.
Why someone would remove parts from a historical piece of equipment is beyond any thought. Those headlights and number boards are not easy to handle.
Thanks for the photos, kgbw49. Those NKP Mikes are nice and beefy looking. Esp when coupled to the 12-wheel tender.
http://www.rgusrail.com/innkp624.html Doesn't look too bad. Of course,it's what's inside that matters.
The USRA Light Mikado design was designated class H-6a through H-6F on the Nickel Plate Road. It was a good looking locomotive - 54,724 lbs tractive effort on 63 inch drivers operating at 200 PSI.
Several examples of NKP H-6 "kin" to 624:
641...
641 fireman's side...
636...
636 again...
639...
662 with original tender...
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